Manchester United boss Sir Alex Ferguson hails ‘special’ Federico Macheda & admits he will have selection headaches this season

Michael Owen, Manchester United (Getty Images)

Related Links

Teams

Players

Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson admits he will struggle with his selection choices up front this season after watching Federico Macheda and Michael Owen score in a 4-1 friendly win over New England Revolution on Wednesday night.

Macheda, who Sir Alex says has got “something special”, scored twice in his first match back with United since returning from his loan move to Sampdoria, while Owen opened the scoring with a cool finish to celebrate his new one-year deal.

Both strikers – plus former Blackburn loanee Mame Biram Diouf – will want to press their claims for consistent playing time this campaign, but they face a fierce fight for a place in the side with Dimitar Berbatov, Javier Hernandez and Wayne Rooney also in the squad.

Owen, in particular, struggled to carve out regular playing time last season, but Sir Alex said the choices will not be any easier this year with the players at his disposal.

The United boss said: “He’s a very good player. The problem for Michael last year – and the same applies to the other strikers, and Berbatov, in particular – was that the form of Chicharito was too good. You couldn’t leave him out.

“It’s a bit of a headache for me having Mame Diouf back and Macheda back. I’m going to be picking from six strikers, which isn’t a bad thing, but, sometimes, it can be a confusing aspect of the team choice.

“You saw Macheda’s finish today. It was first class. He’s got something special. At 19 years of age, we still have great hopes for him, and, of course, Chicharito with a season behind him in English football. We could be talking about anything there.”

Macheda said after the match that he hopes to show Sir Alex he deserves a place at United, while Owen admits he will do everything he can to ensure that he plays more regularly this campaign.

“It’s not easy playing every week when you have so many good players, but I’m relaxed about it and driven,” Owen said. “I hope I can do more.”

Although Sir Alex will have a tough time paring down his options to the usual two berths in the side, Rooney believes the competition should have a beneficial effect as United seek to retain their Premier League title and mount another charge toward Champions League glory.

“It’s good for the team,” Rooney said. “It keeps you on your toes. It’s exciting. Everyone needs to be on the top of their game to keep their place in the team.”

Our  provides the best breaking news online and our  football fan community is unmatched worldwide. Never miss a thing again!